View this page as a place where you and I can have a conversation on subjects that are meaningful to both of us. On a regular basis I plan to post a topic or question on my mind which I encourage you to respond to (see below).

On this same page you will also find some of the responses that have been sent in by those who have viewed this web site. Please feel free to submit your own questions and thoughts which I might comment on and share with other viewers. I truly look forward to hearing from you.

Believe in yourself with all your heart and soul. You must be father to your own son, mother to your own daughter. You must love yourself enough to care and nurture your being. No one else can love you as fully as you do yourself.

Do you remember a time when you nurtured yourself? —————————————————————————————————-

Please share your own pep talks with us, too. The pep talk above is from a new book of pep talks which I’ve been working on. I’d welcome your feedback, as always.

The New York Times today ran an obituary about Wilhelm Brasse who as a young man during World War II was imprisoned at Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp and was ordered by the Nazis to photograph thousands of prisoners for identification purposes (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/25/world/europe/wilhelm-brasse-dies-at-94-documented-auschwitz.html?_r=0).
The article quotes Judith Cohen, director of the photo archive at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, who said ”the same photographs that were commissioned by the Germans later became some of the most damning evidence of their crimes.”
She continued: ”And one of Brasse’s great acts of heroism is that when he was ordered to burn all of the mug shots, he saved tens of thousands. It’s part of the lasting evidence of the horrors of Auschwitz.”
The article shows an example of a prisoner identity photos of a young girl, Czeslawa Kwoka of Poland — three were taken of her, one from the front, one from the side and the third at an angle. Looking at the picture of this 14 year-old girl who died at the camp three months after she arrived, you just want to cry. Such a young face, so wan and frightened, such a beautiful innocent face. I cry and ask myself how such a thing could happen? How could people be so cruel to one another? What causes men to become so inhumane? Could this ever happen again? And, I know the answer. Atrocities in which people are harmed, imprisoned, raped, tortured, killed still keep happening throughout the world day by day.
How can one live in such a world?
Your thoughts are welcome.

I woke up this morning and heard on the radio that Iran said it would welcome aid from other countries to help it deal with the terrible earthquake that it has just suffered. What would happen, I asked myself, if two of its most hated enemies — Israel and the United States — offered to help in this emergency? Would that be a wonderful ”makebeliefs” or not. Is this too crazy a hope to have? Wouldn’t this be a breakthrough in reducing the terrible tension among these countries? Couldn’t we simply help one another — does it have to be so complicated? What do you think of this fantasy?

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 but who could not accept it in Oslo, Norway because she was under house arrest at the time and for many years thereafter, was finally free to accept the prize earlier this month. Now a member of Parliament and a leader of Myanmar’s opposition, she said something very special:
”Of the sweets of adversity, and let me say that those are not numerous, I have found the sweetest, the most precious of all, is the lesson I learned on the value of kindness. Every kindness I received, small or big, convinced me that there could never be enough of it in the world. Kindness,” she said, ”can change the lives of people.”
Amazing person, she seems to bear little outward anger at military who forced her into house arrest and isolation. In thinking about her words, can you remember when someone showed special kindness to you that helped you in your life, that helped you overcome a terrible problem or situation? Would you consider sharing that with us? And have you remembered to show kindness to the people with whom you come into contact and who need your support?

There was a story in the May 10, 2012 Washington Post about someone setting up a chalk board and basket of chalk on the side of an abandoned building with the writing prompt ”Before I die…” written on the board (”The Art of Their Dreams” by Maura Jukis). Some of the things people wrote, according to the article, would be to eat delicious food, travel the glob, effect political change. ”They want to see the Earth from the Moon. They want to meet God.”
So here’s the question for today: What’s on your ”bucket” list – what is it you want to do before you leave this world? Please share with us.
For me, I think what I’d like to do before I die is find a good, safe way to get healthier and free myself from the physical pain that I feel, and also to find peace of spirit. Big quests, no?